Blessings Come with Obedience

Jabez dared to daydream. Jabez’s “Oh” is a deep exclamation that reveals depth, passion, a vision of an alternative future, urgency, rebellion against the painful past he was living through, and an ardent desire for a different future.

It is important for us, too, to exercise that ability to envision the things we desire from God, to daydream. That is part of the effectiveness of a creative life, and of an effective and powerful life of prayer.

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh, that You would indeed bless me, enlarge my territory, and let Your hand be with me, and keep me from evil so that it would not cause me pain!” And God granted what he asked. (1 Chronicles 4:10)

So Jabez says “Oh” first, and then he says, “that You would bless me.” Notice that there are five things, or four things, that he asks for: blessing, the enlargement of his territory, that God’s hand would be with him, and that God would deliver him from evil. The first specific request he makes is: that You would bless me.

I believe that each of the requests he makes is not simply another way of asking for the same thing, but that they are different things he asks for. The first thing I want to say here is how important it is to be specific in our prayers, to divide them into their component parts, and to present them to the Lord one by one.

The first thing Jabez asks is “that You would bless me,” right? That You would bless me. I see this as a request that God grant Jabez the privilege of walking under the sign of His approval, His benevolent sign—like God’s green light over his life.

I think of what David the psalmist says in Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” As part of his inheritance in having the Lord as his Shepherd, the psalmist sees himself as someone pursued by blessing: blessing is his ally and clings to him, God’s mark is upon him, and he prospers. So this request of Jabez is like a request that encompasses the other specific blessings: that my life might prosper through You, and that the sign over my life might change from negative to positive.

I believe there is something very important here: we must remember that when we are in God, when God approves of our lives through His Son Jesus Christ, when we enter the spiritual family that Christ makes possible, our lives take on a mark of promise and prosperity that they would not otherwise have.

A child of God prospers and is blessed. I believe this, although it is sometimes exaggerated a little, and we know that this truth has been distorted. But let me tell you: if you live in Christ Jesus, are a child of God, and live a life approved by God, your life will prosper and you will be blessed physically, emotionally, in your work, and in your marriage.

That is what I see in Deuteronomy chapter 28, where God speaks to Israel about the blessings of obeying Him. Listen to what it says here: “And it shall come to pass, if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God, to observe all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God”—notice the consequences of obedience—“will set you high above all nations of the earth.” He is addressing Israel. “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you”—in other words, these blessings will pursue you and catch up with you—“if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.” Look at the list. It is very long, but I encourage you to read Deuteronomy chapter 28. It is very revealing about the blessings that come with obedience, and the blessings and curses that come with disobedience. Israel certainly illustrates this very well, but it applies to us too.

It says: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country; blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your livestock, the offspring of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl; blessed shall you be when you come in, and when you go out. The Lord will defeat your enemies who rise against you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”

We could go on; the list of blessings is long. But the idea is clear, isn’t it? Goodness and blessings pursue, as the psalmist says in Psalm 23, “those who obey the Lord and honor Him.”

Another passage is Psalm 128: “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.” That idea that “it shall be well with you” is what Jabez is asking of the God of Israel, isn’t it? “Oh, that You would bless me,” right? That You would speak Your word: “Jabez, everything will go well for you in life.” If only I could, Lord, live under that sign of Your approval, and everything I touched would be blessed.

That also reminds me of the story of Joseph, doesn’t it? It says that God prospered everything Joseph touched. In Potiphar’s house, Potiphar’s household is blessed because Joseph is a presence of blessing, and everything Joseph touches is blessed because Joseph sails with God’s blessed wind behind his boat.

I believe we children of God can expect that, and we have the right to pray in those terms for our children and our family: if Your blessing, Lord, would be with me; if Your word of blessing would pursue me.

Live with that expectation of God’s blessing, and you will see that, in the long run, your life will take a very different course from the one it would otherwise have taken. God bless you. We’ll speak again in our next meditation.